Balance
by Qem
Summary: No one could claim that Midoriko lacked courage. A set of four drabbles written about the legendary Midoriko and the events in her life that helped shape the shikon no tama.


**Author's Note: **This story is the sequel to balance, though it is not necessary to read Balance, to read this story.

Much thanks to Numisma for beta'ing.

The first drabble was written for Iyficchallenge and won first place.

**Courage**

Midoriko's journey began with courage. Her moral bravery that allowed her to fight for her friends' sake. It was courage that allowed her to step forward and learn how to use her powers. Valor that allowed her wisdom to appreciate the gifts of love and be able to share her love with others. For what was a miko, if she cared not for her people and they for her?

It was through her courage that she was able to stand strong and firm. Through courage, she achieved great things. It was courage that gave her the reputation of having achieved perfect balance, a living example of perfect harmony.

Which was ridiculous.

Midoriko hardly lived the life of harmony, for she spent every day using every speck of her courage to fight, and not just her most famed battles against demons, where she would purify up to ten at a time.

She fought for those who were too weak to fight back. She fought everyday, discussing with venerable elders what justice meant, and the pathways the villagers should follow. She fought for those who lost their homes in the wars, so that they could find a place to stay and rest. She fought for those who were dying from illness, using her skills to stop them from giving up, to help aid them in their recovery.

She couldn't allow herself to show fear, because the people around her needed her. They needed her to be the courageous miko.

At the end, when the jaws of the monster closed around her, it was courage that caused her to reach deep within herself and find an answer. That while it wouldn't allow her to win, it would cause a stalemate for the match, until the time when came the person who could finish it.

_Courage was the first step to creating the Shikon no Tama._

**Friendship**

It was friendship that shaped Midoriko's journey. From childhood, where she learned how to smile and laugh. Where she learned how to appreciate life in all its forms. Where she was sent to the temple to show honour and respect to Kami-sama.

It was friendship that blocked the horrors of the world. Her companions that made the losses of those who would have otherwise been mere acquaintances into powerful, life-changing events. It was through friendship that she realised her own power, that she could make a difference and help those that needed it. It was for friendship that she would stand in the line of fire.

As a young miko, she learned rites and sutras through the friendship of her teachers and fellow students. It was friends that helped her memorise long and complex magical chants, friends that showed her tips and tricks. Friends that brought warmth to the long cold night. Through friendship came more friendship.

Friendship had its drawbacks, though. It was friends that taught her what it meant to be betrayed. It was friends that taught her the power of loss. It was friends that taught her what it meant to be desperate. It was friends that taught her to deny what she wanted and for the greater good.

But it was friendship that taught her the most powerful of emotions, love. It was friendship that made her care.

It was friends that stood behind her, it was friends that lit the dark path and helped lead the way. If it weren't for her friends, she never have learned how to live.

In the end, it was friendship that gave her courage to fight overwhelming odds. It was friendship - that meant she could not afford to lose. Friendship that fed her determination.

_It was through friendship that the Shikon no Tama became possible._

**Wisdom**

For most of her life, Midoriko was said to be wise. As a young child it was said that she contained an old soul, to explain the instinctive understanding she had.

Her mother would always say in response, after Midoriko had parroted the profound words of her teachers, that she was wise beyond her years, complimenting her beloved daughter.

Her wisdom didn't stop her from making mistakes. Wisdom didn't prevent her from standing up and fighting when common sense said that the situation was doomed. Wisdom didn't prevent her from taking on fights in which she was well and truly outnumbered and out-powered.

Midoriko was said to be wise for her understanding nature, her endless patience, her spiritual power and her extensive knowledge.

Wisdom didn't prevent the poor choices in friendship she made on occasion. Wisdom sometimes caused her to behave in ways she later learned to be wrong. But wisdom gave her insight into human nature. Wisdom aided her in denying the lure demons offered, helped her escape from their guile. Wisdom influenced her judgments, guided her hands, shaped her words.

One of her greatest pieces of wisdom caused her to accept a powerful and long lasting friendship. The two-tailed cat was with her to the end.

It was wisdom that told her that what she did would make a difference. It was wisdom that taught her how to make the most of a situation. It was wisdom that offered her the confidence that someday someone would complete her job. Wisdom that told her that if she didn't give the situation her all, all that she had known and loved would be destroyed.

Wisdom that gave her the foresight to understand, that the evil would never stop unless it was stopped.

_It was through wisdom that she understood the nature of the Shikon no Tama._

**Love **

Love was something that had always been in Midoriko's life. From when she was conceived in what was a happy marriage between a man and a woman. From the security of her home, knowing that her family was there, an extension of herself, something she would always be a part of.

It was love of life that caused her to make the most of every day to give aid where she could. She loved the animals she sheltered from harsh weather. Those same animals gave her unconditional love in return.

It was love that made her push herself to her limits. Love that meant she would never give in, especially for her friends – those that she loved.

Even when she purified demons, denied them their existence on this plane, it was love that motivated her, that made it possible for her to perform these actions. Love for those whom she protected. Love for the duty she needed to uphold. There was even love for the demons, so that they could find the pathway to nirvana.

And in the end it was love that motivated her to pick up the sword. To fight for those who could not fight back. It was because of love that she knew she couldn't give in, no matter what the cost to herself.

It was love that stood behind her in battle. Kirara's love and loyalty motivated the miko to push beyond her limits and gave her faith that in the end it was all going to be all right. That someday a miko dressed in robes of red and white... That a girl whose heart was filled with love and forgiveness, whose soul was pure and strong, would come forward and complete the job, allowing herself and the demons rest in the end.

_It was love that powered the Shikon no Tama._


End file.
